The NHL and NHL Players’ Association, in partnership with Bell Mobility, will take a significant step in the effort to put live games in the hands and pockets of sports fans this week when they introduce a new mobile offering in Canada.

The live game broadcasts are part of the NHL Bundle, a comprehensive 3G mobile package that includes live and delayed game broadcasts, original video programming and live radio play-by-play of NHL games. It costs subscribers $8 a month, a fee the NHL and Bell will share.

The NHL hopes to strike a similar agreement in the U.S. with mobile partner Verizon Wireless at the end of the season, when its deal with the wireless company ends.

Good news for hockey fans on the go. Currently, the only Mobile NHL action available was NBCSports2Go, which presented the NHL On NBC on Verizon Wireless phones. The NHL continues to progress in experimenting with new technologies in the name of getting the game to more people.

According to NHL.com’s Schedule Page, NBC has chosen the New York Rangers-Philadelphia Flyers game for it’s “NHL Game of the Week” on Sunday, April 15th at 12:30 PM. The other two choices, San Jose Sharks vs. New Jersey Devils (3:00 PM) and Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings (5:00 PM), will air later in the day and on both teams’ local broadcasters (i.e., MSG Plus for the Devils, Altitude for the Avs, etc.).

We should have a press release to update you with later. What this means, essentially is that the Rangers have now used up two of their flex schedule appearances and the Flyers have used one. The remaining NHL On NBC schedule is located after the jump.

NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 29, 2009)-VERSUS, the network that celebrates real competition and the exclusive cable television home of the National Hockey League (NHL), today announced the following change to its schedule: the Washington Capitals will face-off against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, on Tuesday, February 3, at 7 p.m. ET. This game replaces the St. Louis Blues/Columbus Blue Jackets game, originally scheduled to air during the 7 p.m. time slot on February 3.

Following the All-Star break, flexible scheduling provides VERSUS the opportunity to replace a select number of games from the ones originally scheduled by the network.

Despite the fact that the challenges facing the two men are completely irrelevant – they won four Cups together in the 80’s – this parody of “The Odd Couple” is hilarious, and does something hockey commercials have rarely done: delved into pop culture references (Okay, maybe this counts too).

So the question before the jury is: Is this the best NHL on ___ (Fox/ABC/NBC/ESPN/VERSUS) promo ever made? You decide.

Don seemed in a particularly ornery mood Saturday night, especially when it came to Minnesota Wild youngster Cal Clutterbuck, who recently has taken to fighting with a visor on, and then removing upon ending the fight. Here’s what Don said, if you haven’t the time to watch and would rather read instead:

Buttercup, you cannot do stuff like that. If you’re gonna’ be a tough guy, get the visor off. That, to me, is a cowardly act, to fight with a visor down to here.

Grapes is absolutely right. I can barely stand it when guys are wearing helmets during a fight, nevermind a visor. But I’m sure the P.C. police and the gay rights folks will take offense to the “buttercup” remark, even though I – and Ron MacLean – thought it was hilarious. Grapes is at his hilarious best in the entire clip.